Olivia set her phone aside as soon as she finished, giving Cody cooperation."Mrs. Miller, I can't perform surgery given the circumstances. You're on your own."You have to push them out as soon as possible. Otherwise, the babies will be suffocated to death. Just push. Your cervix is open."Olivia could feel her babies' heads falling downward. They were tossing and turning in her womb, possibly because of the absence of amniotic fluid.Together, Olivia and the babies gave their last ditch effort like a fish flapping on land."Babies, you have to make it through this. Your father is coming to pick you up. You'll be fine. Everything's going to be alright. Mommy's here. I will never give up on you guys, so don't give up."Even though she had experienced this before, the second experience gave her more fear and pain.Her whole body was shaking. She wasn't sure whether it was due to fear or the cold.The other line of the phone was noisy, but Ethan's voice never fell into silence."Liv, I'm
"W—What did you say?""They must be suffocated during the delivery. Don't be sad, Mrs. Miller. It is rare for a baby to survive when born in week 24. "Your well-being matters the most. You're still young. You can still have babies in the future.""No. I don't believe that they're gone just like that. I've taken care of them for months! I—""Mrs. Miller, the assassins will be here soon. We must leave.""No. No! I will never abandon my children!"Cody couldn't care much about it. She received the order to protect Olivia, and the babies came afterward.When the babies and Olivia were in danger, Cody had to put Olivia on the top of the list."I'm sorry, Mrs. Miller." Cody carried Olivia on her back.The latter watched her babies, who lay lifelessly on a jumble of clothes with teary eyes."No! My babies!"Cody crawled up the cliff with difficulty as Olivia was on her back. Although she was stronger than average people, thanks to regular training, carrying Olivia on her back re
"Don't overthink it, Mrs. Miller. Hold on, Mr. Miller will be here soon. This is our mission. We will protect you no matter what happens.""Thank you, Dr. Wells. Thank you for looking after me for the past few months."Olivia's sudden remark at such a time made Cody feel uneasy."Do not give up, Mrs. Miller. We will get out of here. We will.""Get out of here? Where to?" Olivia raised her head to look at the somber sky, and only raindrops pattered on her face."Actually, I know that my father is not left with much time. He can stay alive until today only because of the machines and medicine. He has long lost the will to live.""Mrs. Miller …""Dr. Wells, my friend once told me that I was like a small sun that shines brightly. But the illuminance that emanated from me slowly dwindled."I'm wrapped up in darkness. I had a muddy period myself."At that time, I tossed and turned and struggled. I didn't want to admit my fate, nor did I believe in destiny."Even if a faint ray of light recur
Olivia dipped into darkness, running quickly all alone.She thought, "Where are my babies? Where are they?"One thing was on her mind—"I should hurry and find my babies, or they'll be scared."She ran for a very long time, not knowing when to stop. Suddenly, a ray of light shone ahead of her, and she was standing on a field.There was a bridge made of a rainbow at the end of the field, leading to the opposite side, where it was covered with clouds.A figure slowly appeared on the opposite side of the rainbow bridge. It was Mona!She was clad in the same dress she wore while picking Olivia from the airport. She waved her hands at Olivia as always. "Mona!" Elated, Olivia dashed toward the rainbow bridge. The moment she stepped on the bridge, two brisk voices resounded. "Mommy!"She looked back only to see her two babies. The boy resembled Ethan, while the girl looked like a mini Olivia."I finally found you!" Olivia crouched to hug them. As she reached out for them, her fin
Olivia's walls of rationality crumbled. Her babies were her last straw.A pang of despair twinged her as much as she had looked forward to their birth.Tears and blood dripped onto the floor. Kneeling on the bed, she clawed at her hair. "Ethan, you shouldn't have saved me. It's too painful to stay alive!"She couldn't figure out the meaning of her living. Her existence itself was a bad omen; she would only bring misfortune to the people around her.Ethan hugged Olivia again. "Do you know why I saved you? Fine, I'll tell you why now."He crouched to slip socks and shoes to her feet before carrying her."Where are you bringing me to?""You'll find out soon."He carried her to one of the patient rooms that consisted of three compartments. The patients in the room were bandaged. Some of them were wearing casts, too!Cyril, whose leg was shot, was hopping in their direction while supporting himself with a crutch. It seemed like he wanted to head to the restroom. He greeted
The elevator door opened when it reached the third-floor basement, taking the chilling breeze in.Ethan removed his coat to drape it over Olivia's shoulders. The temperature was colder than it was up there.It was her first visit to such a place, which seemed different from the movies.The corridor was brightly lit, but the excessive illuminance over the wall made the place appear rather desolate.An older man was standing by the door to the mortuary. He was waiting for Olivia under his superior's orders."Mr. Miller, Mrs. Miller, the body is cosmetically prepared, but it is a dead body, after all. So, it's not a pleasing sight."Please be mentally prepared for it.""Open the door." Her voice was hoarse.As soon as the door was open, she saw a white sheet covering a body.Ethan explained, "I took some measures, so the case hasn't gone public yet. Her family doesn't know about it for now."Olivia strode toward the body. She had lost her consciousness for three days straight.Thus, every
Negative emotions were piling on Olivia. Ethan knew that she was too weak for an emotional rollercoaster right now.But he was more worried that something might happen from her bottling her emotions.Thus, he'd rather she let it all out.Olivia cried for a long time until her voice turned hoarse, and there were no more tears to cry.Her eyes were empty, and her legs were numb from the kneeling.She sobbed in Ethan's arms, and he didn't utter a word. He kept patting her back gently.Only when he noticed that she had slowly collected herself did he help her get up.Forming strength from anguish, she figured he was right—she should live.If she died, everything would go according to the mastermind's plan. She should live to pass on the grief of staying alive to that mastermind.Olivia wiped the last tear off. When she looked at Mona's body, her gaze turned more determined than before.She yanked the white sheet downward a little to reveal Mona's hand.The bracelet Mona treasure
The night had fallen when Olivia regained consciousness. She heard cries coming from the corridor.Fighting through the grogginess, she opened her eyes. She didn't move.She stared at the ceiling with hollow eyes instead.Everything felt like a dream. The haze in her mind rendered it surreal.Ethan gazed at her with bloodshot eyes. His voice was very hoarse. "Liv, you're awake."From his haggard face alone, it was easy for Olivia to tell that he had been looking after her for days and nights consecutively without sleep.She had received IV drips for the past few days. She didn't eat anything. He would press damp cotton buds on her lips whenever they were chapped.Olivia almost couldn't part her lips when she regained consciousness. She spoke with her eyes instead."What do you want? Are you thirsty or hungry? Tell me.""I'm thirsty ..."Feeling elated that she finally made a request, he rose from his seat.However, his sudden action incurred a pang of dizziness because he hadn't reste
Warren's pale face showed a hint of pleading. "Olivia, we've gotten to know each other better in the past two years. Have you ever loved me?"Hatred was evident in Olivia's cold eyes. "Never. I pray for your death every single second of my life.""I knew it." He smiled at that embittering answer. Karma had always been there. Another sound of a gunshot surprised the birds. A pool of blood splashed over the flowers. Warren stared at the picture on the gravestone. "Mona, I've returned everything that I owe you…"Olivia's gaze alternated between the two bodies. Her heart ached as she began crying. "It's finally over, Mona. Please rest in peace."She had been waiting for this day to come for too long. When the revenge was finally over, she felt hollow on the inside. …Yarrows reached their peak of beauty during the season, dancing along the wind. Willow was chasing after Zack, her bells ringing briskly. He teased, "You can't catch me!"After weaving a garland, Alicia bec
Warren was so blinded by love that he didn't realize that Olivia had spent the last two years setting this up.The moment he saw Olivia nestling in Ethan's arms, he knew that his identity had been exposed since the beginning.It was time to end all of this.Although the Fordham family had won the fight, they sustained heavy casualties. Brandon and Deborah, together with Jacqueline, had hurt and killed countless people. Quinn became a sacrifice, never waking up again despite her young age. Olivia placed a bouquet before Quinn's gravestone. "Rest in peace, Quinn. I'll take good care of the family. Don't worry."The breeze carried a leave before it landed on Olivia's shoulder, as though trying to respond to Olivia.Douglas reunited with the family, and Natalie was finally buried in peace. It was a private funeral, but Mason paid a visit. Mason and Douglas looked at each other. They were both important to Natalie, and they finally met each other after her death. With reddene
"Avery, what happened?" Olivia inquired.She had no clue what was happening and didn't dare to go anywhere close to Louis. The only person who she got close to was Avery."Stay away, Olivia! It's too dangerous!" Avery yelled worriedly. Louis shifted his gaze to Olivia. "My experiment is going to be successful soon. That's Natalie's descendant. She has Natalie's genes in her…"Olivia's eyes widened as she finally realized why Louis had been taking special care of her. Back then, she simply assumed that it was due to her health and talent, but it turned out that he had known her identity all along!The purpose of the human modification project was to resurrect Natalie! The thought of it gave her goosebumps.To think that he had made so many preparations just to resurrect Natalie…Even Olivia was deceived. She took the human modification project at face value; she didn't think much about it! "Let Natalie go, Louis. She's been gone for years. She could be watching us from up
Olivia arrived on the island. She noticed the change in the atmosphere this time around.It was the same old scenery, but the robots that once filled the island to the brim were gone. She expected to encounter some inspection robots upon arrival, but there weren't any.Ships were docking in lines by the seashore, and most of them belonged to private foreigner organizations and mercenaries. People were coming to the island!What happened?Was Louis in danger?Although Louis wished to transform her into a cyborg, she hoped he could live regardless. No matter what field it was, no one would come before an outstanding scientist like him. It would be a huge loss to lose him.Olivia grew worried. "Calm down, Liv. A lot of people came to the island, but I don't think it's a big issue for now," Ethan reminded her.He bet that the ships were loaded with ammunition. Still, the buildings on the island were intact, and nothing seemed to be destroyed. She disagreed, "No, there should
Mason and David had a long discussion by themselves. No one knew what they talked about.But it didn't matter because it was just an extra member joining the Fordham family anyway. That was it.On the other hand, Tatiana was a little worried. If the whole Fordham family were to be added to the family registry, would her children inherit less from the Heath family?Humans were born selfish. When the event actually came to pass, everyone would be thinking about their own benefit. However, the result of the discussion between David and Mason surprised everyone.Even though David wasn't acknowledged as one of the Fordhams, he wasn't planning to change his surname to Heath.He saw himself as a Fordham because his mother married Douglas.Nevertheless, he didn't mind his family being relatives with the Fordham family.Mason was a little disappointed, but he still respected David's decision because he knew how well Douglas treated David's family.Mason asked the Fordham family to sta
Olivia and the others returned to the Fordham family. Everything was going back on track under Avery's management. Sean's leg was recovering well. He could walk like a normal person, and he didn't have to pretend to be a cripple anymore. Troy would need more time to heal, but he was making progress.David clearly seemed better than he was before Olivia left. Everyone could still hardly believe that Jacqueline almost killed everyone in the family all by herself. When Olivia returned, David asked with concern, "Olivia, Avery said that you were cursed. How are you feeling right now?""Don't worry, Dad. I'm all better now. But we think that Jacqueline's dead in the sea," she assured.He hugged her. "It's alright. Your safety is all I hope for."It broke her heart to see how time had chipped away at his physique. It hadn't actually been that long since the family was in trouble. "Any news about Mom's whereabouts?" asked Olivia. "Avery found something, but he's still trying to
Alan brushed it over, but it was enough to leave Wendell in shock. Wendell imagined what kind of life Wayne had led before this. Growing up in a slum where all kinds of people lived… People like them had never really owned anything anyway, so they wouldn't feel the pain of loss…Ever since his wife passed away, Wendell didn't really care much about Alexander's upbringing. Wendell was merely generous when it came to spending money on Alexander. But once he reunited with his son, he realized how much it could hurt to be a parent. If that marriage arrangement was Wayne's wish, Wendell was hell-bent on making it happen.…Olivia was watching the sunset painting colors to the horizon by the seashore. Although Jacqueline was dead, Olivia didn't feel happy, not even one bit. So what if the mastermind was dead? The Fordham family was still in disarray, and no one knew where Shana was.Olivia sighed softly. "You're too young to be sighing like that." Wayne suddenly appeared next
Wendell felt helpless. He was seriously down on luck.Instead of his son, he thought that he had found himself a bossy superior. It was a heartfelt reunion after 30 years of separation, and yet the first thing Wayne talked about was an announcement about his marriage rather than expressing words of concern for his family. If it were any ordinary woman, Wendell wouldn't have minded it. But the person he insisted on marrying was none other than Olivia! She was a divorced woman with four kids!On top of that, Olivia's ex-husband was Wendell's nephew! The divorced couple was somewhat entangled with each other too.Ethan and Wayne were both dear to him. What should he do? Wendell was at his wit's end. Ignoring Wendell's dilemma, Wayne handed him a cigarette. But Wendell refused, "I quit it."Wayne lit a cigarette and squatted on the ground. Instead of a ruler of a land, he appeared more like a construction worker. Wendell massaged his forehead at that. How had his son grown
Wendell had been frail all his life. He never imagined that his biological son would have been missing for so many years. What surprised him more was that Wayne had grown up well despite hardships. Still, there seemed to be something off about this son of his.They were father and son who had been separated for years. Now that the truth was revealed, shouldn't they be hugging each other in tears of joy? Why did Wayne show no joy in reuniting with his father but seemed interested in his identity as the son of the Procter family—or more precisely, the marriage arrangement between the Procter family and the Fordham family?""Son, things are a bit complicated right now. We need to take our time to discuss this thoroughly—""Am I not your son?" Wayne's restless temperament was exactly the same as his mother's. There was no chance of dissuading him. There was only one thing in his head. He felt fortunate that he had run a background check on the ties between both families. Otherwise